Just another WordPress.com weblog

Our Kingdom Worth

In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

– Luke 15:7 (NLT)

In the Kingdom of God, the lost that our found have a great worth. Jesus tries to dispense the idea of the sinner’s unworthiness with the “lost” parables in Luke 15. Usually, when a person loses something of value, the person is willing to exhaust all resources and means to find that which was lost. Whether it is a lost sheep or coin, even a wayward son, what was lost is of value. It has worth.

The obnoxious and obstinate onlookers- the Pharisees and teachers of the law- saw no value in the people Jesus was keeping company with in Luke 15 (Lk. 15:2). In fact, they found it offensive that Jesus could claim to be holy while eating and having fellowship with the unclean. They saw the sinners and tax collectors as unclean and unworthy of fellowship with the holy and righteous people of God.

What Jesus shares is that such a pious and prideful worldview does not reflect God’s willingness to make the worthless worthy. He shared in another version that He was not called to save the righteous but sinners (Mk. 2:17). Isaiah painted an even clearer picture when he said: But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5, ESV).

In the Kingdom, we have worth. We are valued by the King. As believers, let us make it known to all others that He is able to justify the unjust and clean up the unclean. He is able.